Mayor Naheed Nenshi, campaigning for his own re-election and hoping incumbent council colleagues return with him, believes that nearly all of them are onside with his push to hike development levies next term.

But that may not be the case.

The mayor reiterated Friday his bid to end what he calls the “sprawl subsidy” — the cost of new suburban infrastructure that isn’t covered by levies the developer sector pays.

It amounts to $33 million per year, or $4,800 per home based on current suburban densities, the mayor said. The existing five-year deal, which doubled the per-hectare rate developers had previously paid to the city, will expire in 2015, during this coming four-year council term.

Nenshi feels that if enough incumbent aldermen are re-elected Oct. 21, he’ll easily have the necessary eight votes on the 15-member council to achieve what he wants when the city renegotiates the levy deal.

“I believe I have 13 to 14 votes on this council for (eliminating the) full developer subsidy, because it’s the right thing to do,” the mayor told reporters Friday.

“Who’s going to vote for corporate welfare? Who’s going to vote for $33 million out of taxpayers’ pockets every single year?”

But in speaking with the 12 ward incumbents seeking re-election, the Herald found that several disagree with the mayor’s stance or are not as gung-ho as he is about converting the 77/23 cost-sharing deal to 100/0 in the next round of levy talks.

“I am fully open to discussing it, but I don’t believe in on-the-fly promises and commitments,” said Ward 10 veteran Andre Chabot.

He stressed that levies are a negotiated settlement between city officials and developers, and council can merely give direction to the dealmakers on its side.

Jim Stevenson said he isn’t one of Nenshi’s presumed 13 votes, because expanding in new areas is still cheaper than upgrading infrastructure for growth within established areas.

“I got no one showing me any facts that it’s more expensive for the Calgary taxpayer to build in the suburbs than what it is in the inner city,” the Ward 3 incumbent said.

Shane Keating said he’s not sure if Nenshi’s math is accurate, but the Ward 12 member does agree with his goal.

Gael MacLeod said she wants more money to go to repairing her Ward 4’s established communities, but isn’t necessarily about to endorse Nenshi’s position.

“I kind of agree the balance needs to be looked at (on levies). I’m not sure it’s 100 per cent.”

Several conservative challengers to incumbents have questioned the argument that ratepayers subsidize new developments.

Nenshi has been criticizing candidates aligned with the conservative Manning Centre or who were lauded by Shane Homes founder Cal Wenzel on a videotaped speech in which he spoke of electing a development-friendly majority on council.

“However, a small group of home builders have been organizing to elect candidates to protect their interest (since they ultimately benefit from the subsidy),” Nenshi writes on his campaign website. “This became clearly evident when the secret video of a meeting organized by Shane Homes’ founder Cal Wenzel and Jayman Homes’ founder Jay Westman, was released to Global Television.”

The mayor has repeatedly charged that some challengers are forming a “slate” of developer-backed candidates. Wenzel, Westman and the candidates have repeatedly said no slate exists.

On that video, Wenzel also talks of several sitting aldermen he feels are on “our side” not the “dark side.” Nenshi said Friday he believes that most of them would support his stance on the developer levies, regardless of whether the home builder has funded or supported them.

When council voted in 2011 on the current levy agreement to hike the developer fees to their current levels, only Nenshi, Ald. Druh Farrell and retiring Ald. Dale Hodges voted to renegotiate a tougher deal with the industry.

The development industry’s key association has decried the “subsidy” assertion, and cautioned Friday about how Nenshi’s reforms would push up new home prices. “If you keep downloading costs onto the developers, that choice and affordability will erode — and it’s already eroding,” said Guy Huntingford of the Urban Development Institute.

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Many aldermen not onside with Nenshi’s bid to hike suburban developer fees